Various types of railing and brackets for such railing are known to the prior art. Railing is typically formed by the end-to-end alignment of a number of railing segments, to allow the segments to be of reasonable size. The segments are attached to the walls by brackets that hold the segments in proper alignment so as to give a unitary appearance to the railing. The walls on which railing is to be installed may have depressions, protrusions, and other irregularities, however, which makes alignment of the segments difficult.
In conventional railing systems, the placement of the brackets on a supporting surface must be carefully determined and the rail segments and brackets must be carefully aligned such that the rail segments abut one another in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. This is often difficult to achieve due to slight variances in the placement of the brackets on the wall and in the length of the rail segments. These variances cause misalignment of the railing segments, thus detracting from the aesthetic appeal of the railing and resulting in gaps which can snag passing objects. Accordingly, the installation of railing systems to produce a uniform railing is time consuming and expensive.
There is thus a need for a protective railing system that is tolerant of slight variances in the placement of the supporting brackets along a wall and in which the placement of the railing segments on the supporting brackets is adjustable in one or more directions to compensate for such variances.
Another problem with brackets currently known in the art is that these brackets have irregular surfaces. For example, one commonly used bracket is I-shaped and consists of opposing flanges which are separated by an intermediate web. One of the flanges is attached to the wall, and the other of the flanges is attached to the rail section. The intermediate web holds the rail from the wall by the desired distance. The irregular surfaces of such a structure are undesirable, particularly when the bracket is to be used in hospital rooms and corridors and in other sanitary environments, because such surfaces collect dust, dirt and bacteria and are difficult to clean.
There is thus a need for a bracket that is easy to clean and that resists dust accumulation.
These and other objects are accomplished by the present invention as hereinafter disclosed.